The key to success for Tony was simple. He very quickly realized that bravery was the key to success with anything. Most people fail, long before they get started, because of fear. Fear has the ability to stop us dead in our tracks, or create action within us, and which one of these two options fear creates depends on us and who we are at our core.

When faced with fear, our natural response is one of two things. In the psychological realm, this is known as fight or flight. You will either freeze in your tracks and die, run like crazy and maybe get away, or you will fight tooth and nail until you win or lose. You will either fight or flight, and Tony used this to his advantage in order to overcome his driving fear.

He realized that he needed to be brave, and that bravery had nothing to do with the fear that he felt. In fact, he realized that he could be completely, utterly, 100%, totally terrified, but that he could still function and that he didn’t need to allow his fear to control and rule him. Once he realized this, he very quickly became empowered to start facing his fear, to find a solution to overcome his fear, and to take the actions necessary to take back control of his life, and to no longer allow fear to rule over him.

Regardless of what you are feeling, there is always something you can do and actions you can take. The problem is that people often times allow their emotions and feelings to dictate their actions, and they very quickly lose control of their lives, situations, and anything else they get involved in because of this.

Take anger for example. When someone becomes angry, they usually lose control very quickly. This causes them to yell, scream, get violent, or any number of other possible actions and reactions. Fear works the same way. When we experience fear, especially when it comes to driving fear, we begin to shut down and withdraw and do everything within our power to remove ourselves from the situation in order to stop feeling that anxiety and fear.

The first thing that Tony did was realize that his fear was controlling him, and that it would continue to control him and his life until he empowered himself to stand up and face it. Until he decided that he was no longer going to be a victim of fear, but would instead use his fear to empower himself and as a fuel to overcome his fear. Once he did this, nothing was impossible, not even overcoming his driving fear.

He used his fear as a fuel, as a motivation, as a driving force to get his life back. When Tony thought about how scared he was when driving, he also thought about everything that this fear had done to him and his life. About how he had suffered for so long because of his fear. He thought about how everyone he loved had been hurt because of his fear, and how he had become dependent on people over the years. It made him angry as he thought about all of this, and he used that anger and that fear as the very foundation and reason to overcome his fear.

Once he gained the tools necessary, and the understanding about his driving fear that he needed, it wasn’t long before he regained control of his fear, his life, and his ability to drive without experiencing anxiety or fear behind the wheel. You must be able, willing, and committed to use your fear in order to overcome your driving fear.

You have to be willing, empowered, inspired to learn, to grow, and to regain control of your life and to overcome your anxiety and fear. You can do exactly what Tony has done, and you can get your life back.

In the next part, we will go into more detail about what Tony learned, and how he began to regain his life, his control, and his ability to get behind the wheel of a vehicle without feeling anxiety, fear, panic, or any of the other negative, unwanted emotions that you often times experience when it comes to driving.

In this 5-part mini course, I will tell you about a good friend of mine: Tony Carnahan and how he eventually managed to get over his fear of driving.

Tony Carnahan, 35, gets out of bed, gets dressed, packs his lunch for the day, and steps outside to wait for the person who will be coming to give him a ride to work today. Many times, unable to find someone who was willing to pick him up, Tony found himself walking the 7 miles to work in order to make a living for himself and his 13 year old son. Work isn’t the only time that Tony has found himself completely at the mercy of other people to give him a ride. Even basic tasks such as grocery shopping, doctors appointments, or just going to the store requires Tony to walk or find someone who will pick him up and take him.

It’s not that Tony can’t afford a vehicle, because it can. Despite living in a rural area that require people to have a vehicle in order to accomplish anything, Tony doesn’t drive, and hasn’t been behind the wheel of a vehicle in more than 20 years. In fact, Tony has never even gotten his drivers license.

You see, Tony and his twin brother used to take their mothers car when they were teenagers in order to meet with friends. He was somewhat of a wild child back in those days, but something changed one summer night. Tony’s brother had decided to take the car, as they usually did, without their parents knowledge. Tony decided that he would drive that night so his brother could relax and not have to worry about being behind the wheel.

On a back road far from civilization, on their way to a friends house, Tony had taken a corner to quickly, slid off of the road, and went down over an embankment completely totaling the car. His brother was flung from the car and ended up spending 4 months in the hospital and physical therapy in order to recover.

That night changed Tony and his brothers life forever. It took his brother 8 months before he was able to walk again without the aid of a cane or crutches. Tony never forgot the image of his brother laying by the car that night with blood rushing from his leg and the bone sticking out where Tony could see it.

Although there are no specific statistics on the number of people who deal with driving fears or suffer from this condition, clinical therapist Stacia Gilbert, therapist for the Hope Foundation in Selinsgrove, P.A., says “Driving fears are extremely common, especially among people who have experienced some type of terrifying or scary situation in a vehicle or who have had a close friend or family member who died or almost died while behind the wheel.”